Visions, voices and roses are simple to explain. But many mystical experiences are less
explicable and more difficult to comprehend. Some individuals report special religious experiences while preparing to enter the Church, understanding them as a
confirmation that God is happy with the path they have chosen. Others may have been going through a long trial or tragedy, and say they received a special grace at just the right time. Still,
others say they received the grace to affirm the truth of a teaching that was difficult to accept. An invisible hug from above. A feeling of “liquid peace” filling a person’s body
from head to toe. The sensation of being as light as feather and floating above ground.

We have collected examples of spiritual experiences, which are always a
gift from God. But don’t worry, most people never feel such things. For others, it is a rare occurrence. As one man points out, “At the beginning of your spiritual life God often[or even always] gives people a very strong feeling
of being close to Him or some other kind of sensible feeling. At some point God removes these sensible [because the senses seem to detect them] graces that cause such feelings because you need to
start to walk towards God in Faith rather than following sensible Graces. If you feel like you have no emotion in prayer or no warmth towards God at all do not worry because that will imply the
next stage of your spiritual journey” (Source scroll toPauAndrews83). Bob Crowley echoes those thoughts, adding that "God usually allows a period of easy grace in
the early stages, with some clear signs that He's real and knows you. But then He stops wearing the party hat for the prodigal son or daughter, and expects them to go back out and work in
the field with the elder son or daughter ... more often than not without any comforting experiences" (Source scroll to Bob Crowley)

Engulfed in Love: This man knew God was present when he felt like
he was “engulfed in sheer, unconditional, infinitely powerful LOVE.” The love was “so thick it was virtually palpable” and left the person with an “indescribable peace.” (Link: scroll tofhansen). In the same thread, one woman reports another a similar experience occurring in the bedroom. “All of a sudden the whole room filled up with LOVE. Love and Light,
although it was dark. I thought I saw a shadow of Jesus walking to my bedside, lean over and kiss me on the forehead . . . My heart and soul were filling up with so much LOVE that I thought it
would burst!” (Source - scroll
tofrannny33)

A Warm Embrace. While sitting in the Sanctuary for Mass,
an altar server reported feeling “a warm embrace . . . as if someone was hugging me. It also felt like many people were surrounding me.” The altar server wondered why this happened and
whether it was the angels, saints or God.Link here. Commenting on the story, one woman reported having had a similar experience after Confession, feeling like “a warm
blanket – taken out of the dryer – and wrapped around my shoulders.” (Source–scroll to “CatholicZ09” and “Acadian”)

Felt the Holy Spirit: Immediately after receiving the Sacrament of
Confirmation and being sealed by the Holy Spirit, this guy “felt graces pour down upon me. I don’t think at that point I had ever felt like that before.” (Source– scroll to “NFrancis”)

Hugged: While standing in front of the tabernacle close to
Jesus,Xandriastates that “suddenly I felt being hugged from behind by a
very warm and loving presence. It felt awesome.” (Source)

Also hugged: After Mass, an altar server was walking by the
tabernacle when the sensation of a “calming, peaceful, warmth surrounded me like someone was giving me a hug.” (Source: scroll to “Catholic
Z09”).

Fire in Body: While showing a teacher a photo of the Blessed Mother, this guy “had a sudden enflaming fire that heated my body with
love and a motherly presence. I had never felt that ever before in my life. My whole body was burning up with heat but it was a comforting fire . . .” (Source–scroll to “mike2112”)

Hugged by Jesus: Richard Allan can still physically feel the hug he
received from Jesus in his “dream.” Jesus motioned for Allan to step off the edge of a precipice. He was then lifted across to Jesus, who wrapped his arms around him and exuded a great
peace as they gently floated downward. Read his account here (scroll to RichardAlan).

Another Eucharistic Adoration account: “I have been going to
Adoration for many years in the middle of the night alone. A tremendous amount of grace and knowledge has come to me there. It is as if Jesus is teaching me. A number of amazing things have
happened there and I cannot even explain some of them.” (Source:
scroll “grandfather”)

Experience at Mass: “. . . during the consecration, I felt the
bread turn into Jesus and wow that was totally indescribable only that Jesus allowed me such Intimacy that words can't describe. It was the most intense love I ever felt that I almost fell to my
knees.” (Source–scroll to
“scoobydoo6v92”)”

Holy Spirit rushed into Heart: Before showing up the first time
ever at Eucharistic Adoration, this husband and father asked the Lord to change him. Upon kneeling, he was “instantly and completely overwhelmed with a rush of this profound ‘feeling’ . . .
I can only think it was the power of the Holy Spirit rushing into my heart and completely filling me with love. I felt sort of like a lost loved one . . .” (Source- Scroll toConvert2013)

A Profound Inner Light: “I experienced a profound inner light,
showing me the evil of my heresies and just how loathsome is any division from the Church. That light has never left me. I saw how I was living in darkness, in several ways, and I saw the
Church’s extreme beauty. She is so beautiful, no one here on Earth can conceive of her glory . . .” (Source– Scroll to “Lief
Erikson”)

Comfort from Mary: When “Della” was first exploring Catholicism,
she heard the “warm and motherly” voice of Mary. Della won’t reveal what was spoken, other than to say it allayed some fears about being open to the Church. Mary “even laughed good-naturedly at
something I said.” (Source- Scroll to
Della)

Angels brought father’s soul to heaven: This man prayed for his
deceased father to be brought home to heaven from purgatory when something incredible happened at Mass: “At the consecration, everything felt a bit surreal . . . I felt so much in the presence of
angels, it was like I could see them without my eyes but with my being. It was like they were circled around the altar bowing during the consecration, and when the priest held up the chalice and
gazed to heaven, it was like the angels rose as well and brought my father’s soul to heaven to celebrate the Supper of the Lamb ...” (Source– Scroll to
freshwind)

Light from Tabernacle: This young person brought a nine-year-old
brother to his first Mass and told him to say “Hi” to Jesus in the tabernacle, which was a silver and gold box. After Mass, the little boy said, “It was funny because at first, I just saw the
silver and gold box, but then after a while I saw a shining light coming from behind it.” The sanctuary was very dark during the entire Mass. (Source: Scroll to
erine)

He Had an Epiphany: This man says he had been feeling bleak and
joyless about life, and the daily struggle of it all. But then, “three days ago…I had this…a flash, an epiphany of understanding, and being filled with the Holy Spirit or something . . . like God
pulling the scales from my eyes . . . I have gone from feeling basically nothing to feeling a great compassion toward people, an overwhelming sense of union with God, and understanding of things
– God’s will and purpose, so much I really can’t describe it, and pure love…” (source: scroll to jc4751)

Similar Epiphany: This man says that 34 years earlier, he “was
filled with a light from a being who brought me joy, compassion, and love to the degree that is unexplainable.” (Source- Scroll to “JimR-OCDS”)

Atheism disappeared in a flash: An atheist for more than 20 years
and enemy of Christianity, this person heard a voice and had an experience that instantly changed him forever: “…when I inhaled, I was as dedicated of an atheist as I had been during my entire
adult life, and when I exhaled, I knew there was a God and the Catholic Church taught His truth.” (Source- Scroll to
“rpp”).

Mattie Stepanek’s rainbow– Believed by many to be a child prophet,
Mattie Stepanek (1990-2004) advocated world peace through his writings and speaking appearances. He appeared many times on Oprah and other national programs. Before hearing his
rainbow story, you need to know two things. First, Mattie loved rainbows (asked to list his favorite colors, Mattie would say “sunset” was his favorite color and “rainbow” was his second favorite
color). Second, you need to know that Mattie’s life philosophy was: “Remember to play after every storm.”

Okay here is the story: At the burial site, Devin (who helped run a camp for
children that Mattie used to be part of), was about to release a bunch of balloons in Mattie’s honor. First, Devin told Mattie’s mother that when Mattie died a few days earlier, the camp kids –
upon hearing the news - began grieving and sharing memories of Mattie, when all of a sudden a “fierce storm” with thunder and lightning began, then suddenly stopped. Just as the campers were
pondering whether Mattie had sent the storm to remind them to “play after every storm,” something else happened. They saw “a huge rainbow arcing across the sky, one end to the
other.”

They knew who sent that rainbow. After telling Mattie’s mother the story at the
burial site, Devyn released the colorful balloons (the purple one was special and had been designated to represent Mattie’s color for hope). He let go of all the balloons at the same time. “They
rose immediately, twenty, maybe thirty feet, and all kept going, except for the purple one. It sorts of paused, hovered, danced a little to the right, then the left, playfully bobbing up and down
a bit. This went on for almost a full half minute, until all of a sudden it shot up, racing higher than all the others and taking one past pause before leading the way skyward” (Jeni
Stepanek,Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek and Heartsongs, p.
311).

The Lord Came Near:“I've had an
experience where Jesus Himself literally appeared to me, but it was not in a dimension of this world. It was difficult to find others who understood what I was talking about . . . “
(Source: scroll to “MIDGIE”)

Power and Light from Tabernacle: “As soon as the tabernacle doors were opened I couldn't bear to
look at it. I felt this power and light emanating from it, it only lasted a few seconds but for that brief moment I believe I felt what it was like to experience being it the presence of God
himself. My body had this warmth from head to toe for a while after. It really shook me” (Source: scroll to
“stanncie”)

Holy Spirit descended on him:During Holy Thursday Mass, “I was listening carefully to the Eucharistic prayer and the Holy Spirit was descending on me,
heavily, fully, powerfully. I felt like my head and shoulders were too small to contain all that was being forced into me. Tearfully, I praised God . . .,” writes Mark Nutter.
(Source: scroll to “Safetynutt”)

Spiritual Gifts: This woman reports, “I have several friends who
have seen the face of Jesus in the host. I sometimes see legions of angels over the altar. These visions are spiritual gifts ....”(Source:Scroll to
“beth40n2”)

Blood of Christ: This person was in the process of joining the
Catholic Church, but was having trouble understanding the most important doctrine: The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. His RCIA director suggested going to Adoration for an hour and
praying the Lord would increase his faith. Well, at Adoration, there was both a host and a chalice. Suddenly, he smelled blood and a voice said, “This is my blood.” He entered the church at
Easter, 2010. (Source: scroll to “michaeljason”)

Felt Mary hugging her at
Lourdes: A 52-year-old woman named Gina Charlin with
neck tumors visited Lourdes, France. Gina told theCatholic Sunthat she felt God’s love wash over her when water from the Lourdes baths was poured over her. “I felt this
great sense of God’s love, of Mary’s love – I felt as though Mary was hugging me. It was amazing . . . I went back to my room and cried for an hour.” After returning to Rio Rancho, Gina’s
sonogram showed no tumors for the first time in two years. (Source)

She found herself in heaven while praying.You must read her accounthere. This woman, who was converting to the Catholic faith, was
having difficulty with the idea of praying the rosary because of her Protestant background. She decided to pray it very slowly meditating carefully on the words. Suddenly, she found herself in a
heavenly, glistening garden where she observed Mary speaking to Jesus about her own prayer request. She saw love flowing from Jesus and saw Mary in flowing robes of white and blue. She also saw
children playing and adults joyfully preparing children’s clothing for some expected arrivals.

Here is a short excerpt from her story: “On the right side of the garden, Jesus
walked in. He slowly approached His mother. Love flowed from His very person . . . Jesus crouched next to His mother. She smiled as He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers. This seemed
to be the display of love in Heaven. ‘She’s praying for her daughter,’ said Mary with the tenderness and affection only a mother has. Although she had been listening to the prayers of all the
people at once, I knew she was referencing my specific prayer. How wonderful and how humbling to know that she was hearing my prayers. ‘I know,’ replied her Son. ‘I have sent angels to watch over
her.’ Read the whole thing atthis link(See “Lila321”). It was not a dream. It happened
in real life. What a gift this woman received from God!

She closed her eyes and saw the Holy Spirit as a glowing dove: “He would fly in
circles, come closer to me, and then fly in circles again. This went on a few more times. Sometimes, the glow on His back and wings intensified, and I saw what almost looked like the sun behind
Him. Light started to stream around His head and wings. My pain had completely subsided and I was no longer depressed, cold, or anxious.” (Source: scroll to “Poetess
Kera”)

Didn’t want to say the
rosary.This woman felt Jesus
was pushing her to say the rosary but tried to argue that she was Protestant and Protestants don’t pray the rosary. She figured praying the rosary would be a waste of time, but decided to give in
and start praying it daily. After several months of this, she took out her rosary for that day’s prayers, and suddenly, after she was almost halfway into it, “an amazingly fresh, new love for
Jesus washed over me . . . I cried tears of joy the rest of the way home. When I told the nice lady at Holy Family Supply what had happened, she just smiled knowingly and said, “That’s what Mary
does!” Source: “Five Giant Leaps into the Catholic Church –
Conversion Story of Beverly J. Lebold.”

Mystical experience when he was 14 years old.This 26-year-old man recalls a remarkable experience in which questions popped in his mind - including “In
heaven, is there a sun?” – and received an instant response of words flowing into his soul: “The sun will not be your light, nor will the moon shine, for the LORD will be your everlasting
light, the Glory of God will be your light. Your sun will never set again and there will be no moon, the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end."

When he arrived at Mass, almost the same
words he had just heard during his mystical experience were read from the pulpit. The Bible reading was Isaiah 60. After he heard the words, a vision came to him of a quiet shore lit up by a
different source than the sun. “I saw feet wearing brown sandals and a beige-colored wool robe. I knew who He was, though I could not look up, but I wanted to…”Justin’s story is
here(scroll to “HisCross”).

Colorado teenager Peter Srsich felt Jesus in the
room. As a teenager, Peter Srsich was battling
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. One day his pain was excruciating, he was exhausted and he had lost faith and didn’t care anymore. His friend came over to the hospital and gave him Holy Communion,
lifting up the Host and saying “The Body of Christ.” That’s when everything changed.
“I could actually feel Jesus in the room,” Peter Srsich said. “It was like he was actually sitting in the room with me, and I could see that he cared about me, and that he was with me.”He has decided to become a priest and entered the seminary in
2014. Article on Peter Srsich. Article in Denver Catholic.

Nun foretold identity of future pope doctor–Dr.
Patrizio Polisca was told by a Spanish nun, “You will have
to go because one day you will be the Pope’s doctor.” The nun ran a hospital in Rome. Years
later, Dr. Patrizio became doctor to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Doctor Patrizio was even with Pope John Paul in his last days but not at the moment of death.Zenit

“Your seed will bear a
girl” - Back in 2009, I was perusing thecatholic
answers forumsand saw that a guy named Jason – who was engaged at the time – had a
beautiful experience while he was in between sleep and wakefulness. A voice had spoken into his mind – the voice of a woman he knew was Mary though he couldn’t see her. The voice told him to pray
the rosary daily and his “seed would bear a girl” and the girl’s name should be Meghan. The voice was heard on Nov. 19, 2009. Curious to see if the prophecy would come true, I jotted it
down and checked the forums a couple years later. Sure enough, Jason had gotten married to his fiancé, Sharon, in June of 2010 and on Nov. 1, 2011, he posted, “I love my daughter.” It seems
the guy even started a Catholic blog (http://myfriendjc.blogspot.com/)

Wine became blood– Catholics believe the wine turns into the
Precious Blood of Christ at Mass. But this woman actually saw it happen. She saw the pinkish wine become real red blood for a few seconds, then back to pinkish wine. Considering she worked in an
emergency room for sixteen years, she insists she knows the difference between blood and wine. She is one of the thousands of people who have received some sort of grace or gift from God at one
point in their lives during Mass. It is usually just God’s way of saying He loves us and He knows we are there. (Source–scroll to “alice2”).

Pope Francis: On a rare mystical experience he had
after being elected pope: Pope Francis spoke about the moments before accepting the papacy: “Before I accepted, I asked if I could spend a few minutes in the room next to the one with
the balcony overlooking the square. My head was completely empty and I was seized by a great anxiety. To make it go away and relax, I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought
of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows. I closed my eyes and I no longer had any anxiety or emotion. At a certain point I was filled with a great light. It lasted a
moment, but to me it seemed very long. Then the light faded, I got up suddenly and walked into the room where the cardinals were waiting and the table on which was the act of acceptance.”
Source

Another Near-Death Experience– In the middle of a violent drowning
incident in his teenage years, suddenly everything became peaceful as he felt surrounded with love. He received a typical “life review” while floating there: “my life was flashed in picture
style in front of me stemming as far back to very early infancy.” (Read the whole storyhere- scroll to “TheHolyTrinity”)

Two White Swans followed her home– Rebecca had been praying
desperately for the healing of her baby son. She had also asked for a sign he would be okay. Two white swans followed her all the way home and into her yard. They came right up to her and her
son. Never in her life had Rebecca ever seen any swans before in Fort Lauderdale. Would the swans ever show up again?Read her
story

In his talk, the now-Christian says: “While walking on an empty beach, it seemed like I ‘fell’
into heaven. I directly felt God’s presence and his love. I knew that he existed; that from the first moment of my life he loved me and watched over me, and that everything, every event which
happened in my life, was exactly the best thing which could possibly happen. I knew that everything I did — for good or for bad — mattered and was weighed in the scales. I knew that we lived forever,
and knew that heaven existed. I knew about the angelic hierarchy. I knew that this was not the picture of God that I had from the Old Testament.”

“I prayed to know the name of my Lord and Master, my God. I prayed: ‘Let me know your name. I don’t mind if you are Buddha, and I have to become a Buddhist. I don’t mind if you are Apollo, and I
have to become a Roman pagan. I don’t mind if you are Krishna, and I have to become a Hindu. As long as you are not Christ and I have to become a Christian!’”

Roy went back to Cambridge, Mass. He called a mystic who was a fallen-away Catholic.
The only good thing that came of the visit was his noticing a book on the coffee table about the hundred biggest miracles of modern times and for the first time, he learned about Mary's
apparitions in Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun seen by 80,000 people. Listen to his testimony: (Video - PART 1) (Video - PART 2) (Video - PART 3) (Video -PART 4) (Video - PART 5) (Video - PART 6)

A year after his mystical experience, he felt a hand wake him up (although technically he was still asleep). He remembers being led to a room, left alone with most beautiful woman
he could imagine …(see video part 2, 6:45 to 7:45). It was Mary. She radiated purity and and intense love. She offered to answer questions if he had any. The question-answer
period commenced!

For example, Roy said, "What’s your favorite prayer to you?" Mary's initial response was a coy, “I love all prayers.” But, finally, she recited a prayer in Portuguese. Roy did not
know any Portuguese but wrote down the first few words phonetically. The prayer in English turned out to be: “Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Roy also asked Mary how could it be that she was so magnificent, exalted and glorious. Mary shook her head and said she was nothing, just a created thing, whereas God was everything (video
part 3, 2:15). Roy had figured out Christ was God and asked, “What’s this business about the Holy Spirit?” (Mary looked up, melting with love, and said, “He’s HIS GAZE”

"I wanted to know how to honor her and asked how she liked to be called, what title. Mary said 'I’m the beloved daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son , Spouse of the
Spirit.'”

The author of "Salvation is from the
Jews,"Roy
Schoeman was born in a suburb of New York City to conservative Jewish parents who had fled Nazi Germany. His Jewish education and formation was received under some of the most prominent
instructors. He attended MIT (bachelor of science) and Harvard Business School (earned an MBA), then joined Harvard’s faculty. He had an
“unexpected and instantaneous conversion to Christianity which led to a dramatic refocus of his activities.”

Buried statue of Child Jesus(SantoNiño) speaks to children in the Philippines. Says, “Don’t throw me out. I’m good.”(This articlenotes that the texture of the doll softened to appear human. The miracle
occurred on the beach of the Sea Breeze neighborhood on “Hubo” Day shrine at Barangay Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Phillipines. The event happened on day of annual ritual bathing of
statue.

Father Rick Wendell had a near-death
experience.The
wedding plans were in place for Rick Wendell and his fiancé. As for Rick, he lived the good life, had cars and a boat, and not much interest in God. But at the age of thirty, the young man found
himself at death’s door after having a bad reaction to an anesthetic that a doctor used on him while stitching a wound. He was “dead” for three hours. At the hospital, his father was instructed
to say goodbye to his son. Meanwhile, Rick was having an out-of-body experience that involved being in the light and knowing God and eternity were real. “While unconscious he remembered seeing an
intense light and later said, ‘I never knew I could be loved that much,’” according to the book,How
Christian Are You?By
Richard J. Hart.
Article on Father Rick Wendell.
Later, the future priest sensed God was calling him to the priesthood, though he initially tried to argue with God. God won (Source: Catholic Herald, Archdiocese of
Milwaukee).

Vision of Rivers of Blood- Thirteeen years before the 1994 Rwanda
genocide, several young people saw visions of the Blessed Mother who showed them rivers of blood and people killing other people. The loving and heavenly woman said that only enough prayer and
repentance could stop the terrible fate. Crowds of people would gather during the apparitions. Although they did not see Mary, some reported feeling her presence or saw supernatural phenomenon.
Some saw the sun dancing in the sky. On July 2, 2001, the Vatican released the local bishop’s approval of the authenticity of visions of Mary by Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and
Marie Claire Mukangango.Here is the declaration of the bishop of Gikongoro, Rwanda. The whole
story of the apparitions is told in Immaculée Ilibagiza’s book,Our Lady of
Kibeho. The genocide lasted one hundred days and resulted in the slaughter of about a half million
Rwandans, especially Tutsis.

Trip
through the Universe– Three of the visionaries during the Rwanda apparitions (see above) also
had experiences in which their bodies appeared dead and had almost no pulse (and were so stiff that school faculty could not move them) while their souls were touring the universe with the
Blessed Mother. “… we moved across the stars until we arrived in a place of golden light filled with happiness and laughter and songs sung by so many joyous voices that I thought the souls of all
the people who once had lived were floating around singing praises to God,” according to visionary Alphonsine (Immaculée Ilibagiza,Our Lady
of Kibeho, p. 135)

Author Immaculée Ilibagiza also writes that Anathalie was taken to one place
comprised of “varying shades of vivid color and light, and people traveled from place to place by sliding through the light.” The Virgin Mary had instructed the girls ahead of time to let the
school director know not to bury them even if they looked dead. The girls describe the glimpses they received of heaven, hell and purgatory. The story is incredible. One must read the whole
account, with all details, in Immaculée Ilibagiza’s book,Our Lady of
Kibeho(one of my favorite books).

Patron Saint of Cancer– Saint Peregrine (1260-1345), the patron saint of cancer patients,
had foot cancer and was in danger of having his foot amputated. He had a dream in which “Christ
seemed to stretch out His hand from the Cross and touched his
diseased foot. On awakening he discovered that it was more than a mere dream—he was completely cured!” (The
Cancer Saint – St. Peregrine).
Saint Peregrine also had a vision of the Virgin Mary, in which she sent him to Siena to join the Servites, a mendicant religious order.

Saint Francis of Assisi warned her in a dream– Maria Esperanza was about to return home to Venezuela from Rome in 1967 but Saint Francis of Assisi told her in a dream
not to go “because the flight was destined to crash …. In the dream, she begged God to have mercy on these people’s children, spouses, and parents who were going to be devastated when the plane
crashed. Saint Francis prayed for her intentions without receiving an answer, so he insisted that she not take the flight. She woke up and told the Colli family about her dream. They begged her
not to go, but she decided to offer her life for these souls. She took the plane and a terrible storm ensued. Lightning struck the aircraft. One engine failed. She prayed the entire time. People
were screaming and crying but she stayed calm. When they landed in Milan there were firefighters and ambulances at the runway waiting for them” (Byerly, Fr. Timothy,Maria Esperanza and the Grace of Betania, p. 66-67).

“Twin brothers will fall”–Scott Welsch, police officer in Dover, New Jersey, will never forget the day Maria Esperanza spoke at Rowan University
in October of 1999. She looked directly at Welsch and told him two brothers would fall. She added that she was speaking metaphorically but that “this would affect me personally and place great
pressure on me. She then looked around the room and said that it would affect everyone in the room and the whole world, especially the United States of America. She said it is because of the sins
of the flesh and abortion that America will have to suffer …. She then looked at me again and told me that I would understand her later.”

In January 2001, Welsch became a police officer in Denville, NJ, and ten months
later he assisted in the cleanup at Ground Zero. (Byerly, Fr. Timothy,Maria Esperanza and the Grace of Betania, p. 157-158). Maria Esperanza was recorded making several other references to the World Trade Center attacks prior to
the tragedy. In fact, on August 25, 2001 – less than three weeks before 9/11 – she told a group close to her that “a great event will be happening in three weeks or three months … the event is
for the whole world” (The Bridge to Heaven, viii).

“The short one will win”- Also in October of 1999, people in Maria Esperanza’s hotel in Mount Laurel, N.J., asked the Venezuelan woman about the
upcoming U.S. presidential election, which was just a few weeks away. Maria “asked to see a picture of the candidates, so a newspaper was presented to her with Al Gore and George W. Bush on
the cover page. She said, ‘The short one will win, but it will not be an easy matter and many days will pass before the results are known.’” (Byerly, Fr. Timothy,Maria Esperanza and the Grace of Betania, p. 159).

Crowned with roses and lilies– Another great story about Saint
Cecilia is the one about her husband Valerius – just after being baptized by Pope Urban – walking in and seeing Cecilia “praying
in her chamber, and anangelby
her with flaming wings, holding two crowns of roses and lilies, which he placed on their heads, and then vanished” (St.
Cecilia).

Felt God’s Love a few days before scheduled abortion(full storypublished 10/21/2012 atthis link. Raquel Kato, who was 21 and a senior
in college, had already scheduled an abortion. But something happened at church the weekend before her appointment that convinced her to cancel it: “That day, God gave me the grace tofeel His presence and his mercy and forgiveness in myheart.For the first time I knew with every
ounce of my being that GodDIDlove me as much as he loved the
little life inside of me. For the first time in over a month of depression and turmoil and shame, I felt loved –in the midst of my brokenness.” Her twitter site is https://twitter.com/tweetsofarose. Link to
Raquel’s Story

Mystical moment shared by Saint Augustine and his
mother – In his famous
autobiographical work, Confessions, Saint Augustine describes an experience
that he and his mother (Saint Monica) shared after a conversation about the delights of heaven. In this experience, their minds moved towards God. St. Augustine writes: "Our minds were lifted up by an ardent affection towards eternal being itself. Step by step we climbed beyond all corporeal objects and the heaven itself, where sun,
moon, and stars shed light on the earth. We ascended even further by internal reflection and dialogue and wonder at your works, and we entered into our own minds. We moved up beyond
them so as to attain to the region of inexhaustible abundance where you feed Israel eternally with truth for food"(Confessions IX.x).

She felt the presence of God – This woman had reached a low point in her faith life and was
close to despair as she cried out to God. The song, “I’ll Stand by You,” came on. Also, “the wind stopped, the sun came out from behind a cloud and shone brighter, warmer than I ever experienced
and an eagle swooped down to the pond and perched at the water’s edge, and I felt the presence of God, standing there next to me, reaching out to hold me, waiting for me to come to Him. And
I did, I surrendered everything that was holding me back” (Source – scroll to OneoftheWomen).

Regular woman had vision of
Jesus as Divine Mercy–
In Louisiana, a priest recounted a story that occurred in 2005 a few months before Hurricane Katrina. At the time, the priest was stationed at Our Lady of Mercy church in Baton Rouge. Father
Miles Walsh told his parishioners at his new church (Sacred Heart) how a “dear little lady” came to him after Mass and told him about her experience while praying in the adoration
chapel.

Father Walsh writes, “She told me that as she prayed before the Eucharist, she saw Our Lord with rays of light coming from his heart, and she also saw a nun with Him, dressed in a black religious
habit.” The priest realized from her description of the rays of light and the black attire of the nun that the woman must have seen the Image of the Divine Mercy of Jesus and Saint Faustina (the
nun to whom Jesus appeared in 1931). The lady did not even know whoSaint Faustinawas.

Father Miles told the story during his homily of July 27-28, 2013 at Sacred
Heart of Jesus parish. He also told the story in written form in the parish bulletin of Sunday, Aug 4, 2013, of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, of which he became
pastor in July 2013. The priest realized that Jesus was speaking to him personally through the woman so he launched a novena to the Divine Mercy of Jesus at Our Lady of Mercy Church. During the
next eight years, about 60,000 people came to pray at that novena at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Baton Rouge. Many had flocked there from New Orleans to take refuge from the hurricane’s
aftermath.

Mystical experiences at the Divine Mercy Jesus
Statue in the Philippines– Many mystical moments have been experienced in front of the Fifty-foot
Statue of the Divine Mercy. the statue is in Mindinau in the Philippines). One was
experienced by a tourist who described the inner peace and presence of God that came over her: She writes: “When
I finally stood in front of the 50-foot statue of Jesus, an inner peace rapidly hit me. Silence enveloped the whole place.I felt I was in front
of my God, so huge and strong, and there I was standing in front of Him so humbled knowing I was so small. For a moment, I glued myself to where I stood marveling at the world’s tallest
statue of Divine Mercy. It was just marvelous.” Furthermore, if you scroll down to the comment by Susana S.
Villaruel, she says she witnessed the sun dancing at that same location on
April 30, 2013.

Video of her own personal sun miracle – A woman named Olivia Urdiales had just finished praying a rosary and had parked her car and was thanking God
for the beautiful sky when the sun started moving around. She describes the solar movement as similar to a sun dancing or bouncing around in a box. At the 49-second mark, a feminine sing-songy
voice is heard saying “Can you see love now?” She believes it was an angel and assures us it is not her own voice. The day after the sun miracle, Olivia found out the joyous news that she was
pregnant with her first child. The youtube video was uploaded May 20, 2007.

Two rainbows brought twins for Colleen Carroll
Campbell - Colleen and her husband had been trying unsuccessfully for a baby for four years.
Before her father died, she asked him for a favor: “Dad, when you get to heaven, will you do something for me? Will you ask Jesus to send me a baby?” (p. 151). Despite the fact that her father
was in end-stage Alzheimer's, unable to speak or walk, he seemed to understand and respond positively to the request.

Her father's eyes brightened, he gestured toward the sky, and finally was able to get out a word . . . "joy."
Later, Colleen and her husband were taking a cruise. “Just then, I looked out at the shoreline and saw two full rainbows arched in the sky, framing the cruise ship that would take John and
me home” (p. 169)

Colleen saw the rainbow just as she was reflecting on the fact that the Mexican woman selling her tiles was obviously
poorer than herself yet she had children, which Colleen did not. Colleen conceived and gave birth to twins. Colleen Carroll Campbell is a former White House speech writer and was anchor for
EWTN’s “News Nightly with Colleen Carroll Campbell.” (Sources: Colleen's book, My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir, and her speech at Immaculata)

Father Dennis Garou says that “something happened to me there” while at the
Milan Cathedral ("Il Duomo") in 2006 in the presence of the bath in which St. Ambrose baptized St. Augustine. He told the story while being interviewed by Marcus Grodi on EWTN.

Fr. Garou added, “Something happened to me spiritually.” Journey Home on
EWTN(aired March 31, 2014). The priest also told Marcus Grodi, “God touched me through
his spirit and I said I had to be a part of this body which had the continuity through the centuries.”

As a result, the former Anglican priest entered the Catholic Church, where he is now
a priest.

Lucia Santos, standing; Jacinta Marto, sitting (1917)

Experienced Love while Receiving the Eucharist

Lucía Santos (1907-2005), even before she was visited by the Lady of Fatima in Portugal, had an extraordinary
experience upon receiving her First Communion. She writes, “I felt myself bathed in such a supernatural atmosphere that the
presence of our dear Lord became as clearly perceptible to me as if I had seen and heard Him with my bodily senses. Then I addressed my prayer to Him: ‘Oh Lord, make me a saint. Keep my heart
always pure, for You alone.’ Then it seemed that in the depths of my heart, our dear Lord distinctly spoke these words to me: ‘The grace granted to you this day will remain living in your soul,
producing fruits of eternal life.’ I felt as though transformed in God” (Source: Fatima in Lucía’s Own Words).

St. Benedict holding the poisoned glass of wine

Saint Benedict of Nursa

Miracles galore were reported during the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia (born 480). Fortunately, Pope
Gregory wrote many of them down which can be perused in Book Two of Pope Gregory’s four-book Dialogues. Here is the full online text of Life of Saint Benedict. Now for some miraculous highlights . . .

Chapter 5: Seeing it was too dangerous for his monks to fetch water, Benedict asked God to make a
fountain spring forth on top of a mountain. Pope Gregory mentions that the water flowed abundantly and that even until his day, “the water springs out and runs down from the top of that hill to
the very bottom.”

Chapter 7: A young monk named Placidus fell in the lake and was being carried away; Benedict
ordered Maurus to “run as fast as you can” to get to him. Maurus ran until he grabbed Placidus by the hair and saved him. Then he realized he had been running on the surface of the water!

Chapter 11: A wall fell and crushed to death a little boy and broke his bones. The boy’s body was
carried in a sack to Benedict, who brought the dead boy back to life.

Chapter 26: Benedict cured a boy of leprosy.

Chapter 30: Benedict cast out a demon from a possessed monk.

Chapter 34: Benedict saw his sister’s soul “ascend into heaven in the likeness of a dove.”

Chapter 35: Benedict had a vision in which the whole world was represented. Looking out the window
in the dead of night, “he saw a light that banished away the darkness of the night and glittered with such brightness that the light which shone in the midst of darkness was far more clear than
the light of day.” During the vision, the whole world was “gathered together … under one beam of the sun.” While Benedict stood in awe of this heavenly scene, he suddenly “saw the soul of
Germanus, Bishop of Capua, in a fiery globe, carried up by Angels into heaven.” It was later discovered that Germanus had died at the moment in which Benedict saw his soul rise up.

Chapter 37: Benedict correctly prophesied the day of his death. After he died, two monks saw a
“magnificent road” covered with thousands of lights stretching eastward and up to heaven. It was the path taken by Benedict’s spirit to heaven.

The patron saint of Europe and the founder of western monasticism, St. Benedict founded twelve
communities of monks, who followed his “Rule of St. Benedict.” Saint Benedict is the brother of Saint Scholastica and the saint after whom Pope Benedict XVI took his papal name.

During Mass on May 20, 2013, Pope Francis urged people to really pray
rather than just saying a few prayers and forgetting about it. To illustrate this kind of prayer, he recalled the story of a seven-year-old girl in Argentina who had been given only a few hours
to live.

Pope Francis said the child’s faith-filled father - while acting like a
madman over the tragic news - hopped on “a bus to the Marian Shrine of Lujan, 70 kilometers away … He finally arrived after 9:00 p.m., when everything was closed.
And he began to pray to Our Lady, with his hands gripping the iron fence and he prayed, and prayed, and wept, and prayed … and that’s the way he remained all night long,” Pope Francis
added.

The next morning, the man returned to the hospital by bus. His wife was
weeping – not for sadness but for joy. The wife said,'Well, the doctors came and they told me that the fever is
gone, she is breathing well, that there is nothing!”

Pope Francis
reminded people that our prayers must imitate those of “Abraham, who struggled with the Lord to save the city, like that of Moses who held his hands high and tired himself out, praying to the
Lord ….” He said we must pray a “courageous prayer, that struggles to achieve a miracle …”

In her
dream in 1985, someone told her she should visit her son in Mexico City where he was interning at a hospital. She flew there, and while her son was picking her up at the airport, an earthquake
flattened the hospital where he would have been working. It was her visit that saved her son’s life! (Source: scroll to CathConvert602)

The Virgin and Child painting that prayed

Virgin Mary’s Lips Move During Prayer in 2015

In Sydney, Australia, a number of churchgoers at Saint Charbel’s church have said they have observed
Jesus’ mother praying along with them from a painting on the wall. As the congregation recites prayers, the lips of the Virgin Mary are sometimes seen moving along to their prayers.

Mary's lips even pause when the crowd pauses and speed up to prayers spoken more rapidly.
The Child Jesus in the painting has also been seen moving His mouth. George Akary is one of two churchgoers who captured the phenomenon on video. Akary’s video
footage from July 19, 2015 can be viewed here.

This moving-lips phenomenon was reported by many eye-witnesses at that church – not only that day but on
multiple days. Akary got the idea to film the marvel (something he had seen personally on many occasions before) after a young woman named Kirsten Keirouz shot a shorter clip of the
phenomenon at church earlier in July and had posted it on facebook on July 5, 2015.

Kirsten Keirouz was stunned to observe the painting’s movement after a friend in church told her to look
at the painting. "Once I looked up, I had no idea what they wanted me to look at and I saw her [the Virgin Mary] mouth moving.
I then asked my friend; 'Is it her mouth?' She replied 'yes.' and then I got the shivers throughout my whole body. I couldn't believe my eyes, I kept blinking in case I was seeing
things'” (Source: Daily Mail, Aug 23, 2015).

Keirouz adds, 'I believe it was a miracle, and not just lighting because we all saw it at the same
time and because her lips would start moving and then stop and start again”(Source: Daily Mail, Aug 23, 2015).

Akary emphasizes that the video of the moving mouths was not enhanced in any way by photography tricks or
lighting techniques; in fact, eye-witnesses in the church saw the lips moving with their own eyes exactly as they show up on video. Akary has also noted that the talking lips have appeared under
all sorts of lighting, and from various angles and locations in the church. Rather than considering Mary’s gift a miracle, Akary considers it a “sign” from heaven to churchgoers to affirm they
are in the right place and to remind them that God is really with us.

Along with his
video from that day, Akary posted on his facebook page on July 19, 2015, this message:

“Something I have
seen a few times, this time I recorded it.. see the mouths on them. At st charbels church in punchbowl, sydney 19th july during service.. To clarify for the viewers... i saw this during mass and
at the end of mass the rosary is prayed. I went to the altar and wanted to confirm via recording it... lights are not relevant and there flickering etc as I have seen this occur under various
lighting and have considered those possibilities. It is what it is...I also did notice whilst the people were
praying the lips sped up or slowed down to the prayer been said ....God bless you all.”

“To add to this.
Please know this also occurs to the image of St Charbel and St Rita. Also St. Joseph’s in Croyden. God willing I will capture this for you all. This occurs when you pray the rosary or many
prayers after each other as an example like during mass during the apostles creed and the our father. If you don't believe, I usually go on 7pm mass sundays and will help you see it for
yourself.. key word is help you I cannot guarantee any person this vision but am confident that many will.”

Asked whether he had seen the phenomenon on other days, Akary responded on facebook he had just seen it
again two days earlier, on Aug 2, 2015, and that it lasted until the Mass. One Australian
website quoted a facebook user’s post saying “About 4 years ago me and my mate went to sleep over night in the church as
we were praying and we witnessed the same thing but we didn’t want to tell anyone coz they would laugh at us!’”

St. Charbel’s is a Maronite Catholic Church, which is in union with the rest of the Catholic Church (the
many rites of the Catholic Church include Roman, Byzantine, Chaldean, Maronite, Coptic, Armenian, etc.).

In general, Church officials avoid ascribing heavenly origins to most signs reported by parishioners.
Considering that the St. Charbel’s event was so recent and lacks massive scientific investigations or declarations of authenticity by the local bishop to back it, it was unsurprising that the
church staff is playing down the incident. Father Joseph Sleiman of St. Charbels was quoted saying, “What has unfolded was just a personal experience for those parishioners that
witnessed it, and not a miracle declared by the church” (Source: Christian Today, July 25,
2015).

As for Akary, he only posted the video to share it with friends, never dreaming his video would receive
more than 300,000 views. Akary, who receives no money for his efforts, has said that several churchgoers thanked him for sharing the video and told him they had seen it themselves but had not
been willing to admit it to others.

Akary, a former atheist who today spends long hours in prayer, says he hopes to shoot some better footage
of the painting in the near future.

Serge François, a repair man from western France had a paralyzed left leg. On April 12, 2002, while
praying at Lourdes, the 40-year-old man felt a warm glow spread down the paralyzed leg. He was instantly cured. Bishop Emmanuel Delmas stated the cure was “sudden, complete, unrelated to any
particular therapy and durable.”

However, this will not become an official miracle of the Church unless and until many more
investigations are conducted. The bishop added, “This healing can be considered a personal gift from God to man, as an event of grace, as a sign of Christ the Savior,” the bishop added.
Lourdes is the site where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858.

Of the more than 7,000 unexplained and “remarkable” healings at Lourdes, only 69 have been elevated to
miracle status by the Lourdes Medical Bureau.

How did François thank God and the Blessed Mother? He walked the famous pilgrimage road (975 miles) to
Santiago de Compostela, Spain, using his new leg.

After Pope Francis blessed this paralyzed child, she felt the Holy
Spirit within her (New York City, 2015)

A twelve-year-old Brooklyn girl named Julie Bruzzese believes that through the holiness of Pope Francis,
God will heal her and allow her to walk again.

It all happened during the pope’s visit to New York in 2015. Julie was sitting in her wheelchair on the
tarmac at JFK Airport when the pope saw her, came over, touched her and blessed her on Thursday, September 24, 2015. At that moment, she felt the Holy Spirit within her and knew in her heart she
would one day walk again as a result of the pope’s healing touch. The previous June, Julie lost her ability to walk or move her legs and needed a wheelchair.

Based on her symptoms, doctors had suspected Lyme Disease but had found no scientific evidence for this. Evidence did
surface five days after the papal visit: “The miracle has begun. Yesterday, I went to the doctor and for the first time they saw Lyme disease
activity in my blood and that just shows a miracle can happen . . . .”Julie told Dick Brennan of CBS
New York.

Julie described her papal encounter to Marie Elena Giossi of the Tablet: “I kissed his ring and he put
his hands on my forehead and he looked at me. I feel like a miracle will happen. I do. I feel it. I feel that he brought the Holy Spirit to me.” Julie toldMSNBCof a peacefulness and kindness that enveloped the pope’s face and that “ . . . looking at him was like
looking at the face of God.”

Julie adds that after the blessing, “I felt the Holy Spirit within me . . . it just
confirmed to me that I will walk again and a miracle will happen if I have faith in God and pray every day like I do.”

Julie’s mother, Josephine, was also sensed that something extraordinary was happening at the moment
Pope Francis turned towards her family (the mother had called out to him). Josephine toldCBS New York: “[Pope Francis] looked at me right in the eye. And he looked at her. And he blessed her. I was able
to kiss his hands and thank him. I walked away saying she’s going to be okay.”